Princess Kate and Prince William Meet the ‘Will and Kate of the Himalayas’ – the Dragon King and Queen!
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Prince William, Princess Kate, King Jigme and Queen Jetsun light traditional butter lamps at the Tashichho Dzong Temple in Thimpu, Bhutan.
Princess Kate and Prince William have met the “Will and Kate of the Himalayas” – King Jigme and Queen Jetsun of Bhutan.
The young British royals met the Dragon King, 36, and the Dragon Queen, 25 – who both studied in England before ascending to the throne in the small Himalayan nation. Will and Kate arrived in Bhutan after making a dramatic landing from the cockpit. They had been invited to do so by the King and Queen, PEOPLE was told.
Kate glowed in a Paul and Joe cape-style top and a regal skirt made in London from Bhutanese fabric.
The fabric for the skirt (called a Throngdrel), woven in Bhutanese tradition, was made by Kelzang Wangmo, a renowned weaver in Thimphu.
It was Kate’s suggestion to source some fabric locally and use it to make a skirt, a royal source tells PEOPLE.
The royals are in Bhutan to increase links between the two countries. The fact that William, 33, and Kate, 34, are similar ages to the Bhutanese royals means the meeting is an opportunity to create a new link between the nations.
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Prince William and Princess Kate meet the King and Queen of Bhutan on Thursday afternoon
William and Kate were led to the Thimphu Dzong, the Bhutanese palace, by a Chipdrel procession, a traditional Bhutanese welcoming ceremony.
Musicians and drummers lined the red carpet route across the square. Like at the airport, the red carpet had been decorated with intricate designs created from colored rice.
Just after William and Kate walked through, gusts of wind swirling around the square whipped up the carpet and tossed the rice away, but it was quickly fixed during the royal couples’ meeting.
The royal couple strolled along the carpet to their meeting with the king and queen of Bhutan. Inside, Kate curtsied and William bowed when they were introduced.
The two royal couples then emerged after about 30 minutes and walked through the courtyard and posed in front of a giant thanka, traditional tapestry.The two couples were clearly getting along.
When William and the King moved ahead, they went around a corner and paused, waiting for their dawdling wives who were deep in conversation.
After their meeting they headed to the temple where they lit butter lamps in the temple.
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